Volunteering in the library

Our project is primarily focused on culture and creativity. We want to give volunteers an opportunity to show their creativity through different types of activities, to improve their presentation and communication skills as well as computer and information literacy. We offer an opportunity to work in a team or independently. At last but not least volunteers will have an opportunity to learn more about library environment and activities. We hope volunteers give us valuable feedback and help us to widen the network of people who are actively interested in services and other issues connected with the library.

There are two main lines of activities in which volunteers can take part. Both of them will be combined with various additional activities or can be combined together. Both of them include help with common librarian activities (describe below) and English Club (describe below).

The first line focuses on children and cooperation with Children's Library. Volunteers will help with common librarian activities and with activities for the public. Our Children's Library is very active in a field of cooperation with kindergartens and primary schools and also makes a lot of activities for children and families. Volunteers can take part in some of them or together with colleagues from Children's Library prepare their own – e. g. presentation together with workshop about their home countries, afternoon reading, club for children connected with practice foreign language etc.

The second line focuses on presentations for the public. We expect volunteers will made series of presentations or talks about their home countries. They can present culture topics, speak about interesting touristic destinations, about their region, food etc.

Proposed activities – describe in more details:
1) English Club
The club was established in our first EVS project and still going on. It is about regular non-formal meetings of people of various ages who like to speak English and like to get to know new people. EVS Volunteers together with Czech volunteers will be responsible for coordinating meetings of the club, preparation of the topics for conversation or some games. We want to support an awareness of culture varieties and understanding among people of various ages.
Volunteers will develop primarily communication in English, social abilities and culture awareness.

2) Common librarian activities
Common librarian activities are daily routine when you work in a library. They include e. g. lending and returning books, contact with readers (help them search the catalogue or find a certain book on shelves) help with putting books back to shelves, help in the stock, help with new documents that come to the library. Library has different departments and each of them has some specification, so the work can be variable. Activities for a public (workshops, happenings, public reading, playing table games etc.) are also part of librarian activities as well as publicity of the library (facebook, blog, website, leaflets etc.).
Volunteers will have an opportunity to develop the communication in foreign languages, their social abilities, digital competences (library catalogue and system, computer’s program and internet social media) and culture awareness. They can also improve his/her creativity (activities for public, publicity of the library).

3) Children's Library
Special part of help with common librarian activities is connected with Children’s Library. Librarians who work there are very active and make a lot of activities for children and families (information lectures for kindergartens and primary schools, reading of fathers linked with workshops, Day of Children’s books, Week of reading etc.). Volunteers can take part in them or after discussion with librarians from Children’s Library prepare their own activity – e.g. e. g. presentation together with workshop about their home countries, afternoon reading, club for children connected with practice foreign language.
Volunteers can develop primarily their communication skills, social abilities and creativity.

4) Make an exhibition
We can offer an opportunity of making an exhibition. We prefer topics that connected with culture (literature, travelling and photos, art etc.), but we are open also to the topics from other areas.
Volunteers will develop the digital competences and entrepreneurial spirit and will improve their creativity.

5) Presentation about volunteer's home country
Because Library is also about activities for public, we offer an opportunity of making series of presentation of home countries of volunteers. Each presentation should have different topic connected e. g. with the region, culture monuments and traveling, food, music, art, literature.
Volunteers will develop their communication skills, culture awareness and social abilities. During preparation of presentation they will also improve digital competences and information literacy.
Presentations can be in English, the translation will be ensured by project coordinator.

6) Social media and PR of the library
Our library has website, facebook and twitter profile and runs own blog. If the volunteer is interested in social medial, we can offer a possibility to participate in these too.

7) Czech language lessons
We also offer Czech language lessons for volunteers. We cooperate with a teacher who comes to the library to teach volunteer Czech language. Lessons should be once or twice a week.
Volunteer will develop communication in foreign language.

Example of volunteer's weekly work plan:
1) Common librarian activities + English Club – 35%
2) Additional activities – 40%
3) Czech language lessons, meetings with project coordinator - 25%

It is possible that the above mentioned percentages will change during the EVS. It will depend on volunteer's specialization and on additional activities. Working hours will depend on volunteer's activities and can be changeable by mutual agreement.